I awake to wingbeats of light,
like fluttering images of a film reel,
urging me skyward—
and I know to always say yes.
Whimsical lights push and pull in waves,
darting like the sweeping beam of a flashlight,
fighting over which adventure to embark on,
finally agreeing the answer is: all of them.
Yet with each swoop that grazes treetops,
I glance behind me, wondering
how ephemeral flashes and flickers
can keep me aloft,
when they suddenly tire of endless skies
and melt away their airy wings,
their cheeky photons waving goodbye,
forgetting the particulars of my itinerary,
leaving me in whispering forests
where fireflies lull me to sleep,
so I can dream again
of the fickle nature of wings.
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Ian Li (he/him) is a Chinese-Canadian writer and Rhysling-nominated poet. As an economist and developer, he also loves spreadsheets, statistical curiosities, and brain teasers. Find his work published or forthcoming in Nightmare Magazine, Orion’s Belt, and Small Wonders, among other venues. Learn more at ian-li.com or find him on Bluesky @ianli.bsky.social. |
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